How Long Is Safe to Leave Fridge Out of Level?

Assuming front to back tilt is the primary concern @23' and 6 degrees the rise or drop is 29".  Even @ 3 degrees it's 14.5"  That's pretty substantial.


  For anyone concerned you could simply calculate as appropriate to your trailer/RV and transfer that to anything visual.  I suspect a level bubble would far out of range before hitting that mark.

1 foot is .630" @ 3 degrees for reference.

Right, but the human eye is notoriously poor at estimating angles and height differences. It is easily fooled by perspective, lighting, etc.  And if you are not looking at it from a suitable distance and angle, you simply may not see what might otherwise be an obvious difference.

People also vary a lot in the feel of "level". Probably an inner ear thing.  My wife can easily detect a slight difference as she walks around, inside whereas I need about a half-bubble to become aware by feel alone. 

I can't understand WHY anyone would NOT level their RV... so that their running refrigerator is "dead level" when parked.

Mel, maybe you have a Class A with autolevelers and use them each time you stop for lunch. I have a travel trailer that I use Anderson levelers with. As the OP originally asked, when do we need to be worried when fueling on a slope or stopping for lunch? I don't level when making a stop of an hour or so (lunch, a museum, rest stop), but I will be more cautious about turning the refrigerator off when I am noticeably off level (I am more like Gary's wife and I can tell!).

Thanks for the discussion folks.

mel s said:

meternerd
How much propane do you think that saves?

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Well...maybe I didn't make it clear...if it's not turned on to propane or electric, level means nothing.  Park anywhere you want.  It's not really about saving propane, though it does save a little bit.  It's more about leaving the propane tanks turned on while traveling and nobody in the trailer.  I don't think it's necessary.  I honestly seldom use propane anyway.  I don't dry camp much, and the park usually has 50A to run fridge, water heater, etc.  I may turn it on to cook on the stove, but my wifey prefers the toaster oven or the convection/microwave.  Grill stuff outside on the portable grill.  In cold weather we use small portable electric space heaters.  Also have a fireplace with heat.  Why use propane when you're paying for the electric hookup anyway?  Just me.  Why run the fridge when traveling short distances if it stays cold anyway?  Just seems simple and maybe even safer.  A propane leak alarm isn't much good if you're not back there to hear it.  I had a work friend who got a pretty nasty injury when his leaking propane tank in his work truck (stored behind the seat) wasn't shut off tight and the fumes drifted along the floor and ignited when he got in and started the truck after a job. I guess whatever paddles your canoe, though. 

UTTransplant said:

As the OP originally asked, when do we need to be worried when fueling on a slope ...

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That shouldn't be a problem, you turned off the fridge before you started fueling, right? 

Doesn't matter how off-level the refrigerator is when it's turned off.

Thanks, all.  If I could judge angles, I could putt - but I can't.  I think I need to look into the ARP.
Gary, thanks both for the detailed info and the link.

Hi All,

This is something I worry about, but I am usually fairly level (using a level). With that said, maybe the way to go about leveling, is to check the refrig itself for level. After checking, then see if the floor seems level or not. I  have been level long ways before and off a bit side to side. So wondering what the effect is there?

Most of us have a little money tied up in our units. Jumping out a window before the unit is totally in flames isn't my idea of an enjoyable trip. Paying attention to level, LP, CO or exhaust is an important part of our travels. Great thread!!

Gary RV_Wizard said:

Right, but the human eye is notoriously poor at estimating angles and height differences. It is easily fooled by perspective, lighting, etc.  And if you are not looking at it from a suitable distance and angle, you simply may not see what might otherwise be an obvious difference.

People also vary a lot in the feel of "level". Probably an inner ear thing.  My wife can easily detect a slight difference as she walks around, inside whereas I need about a half-bubble to become aware by feel alone.

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I agree on all points, but I think if someone were to calculate the drop based on the info I provided and set their rig to those extremes they would have a pretty good visual for future reference.  When I get a chance I'm going to try it myself.

Why run the fridge when traveling short distances if it stays cold anyway?

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Each of us may have different needs.  It's not always a short distance, or at least not a short time. Not everyone travels to an electric hook-up site each night. And some of us open the fridge at times during the travel day, maybe at a lunch stop or just to get a drink. Opening the door just once can cause major warming.

Gary RV_Wizard said:

Each of us may have different needs.  It's not always a short distance, or at least not a short time. Not everyone travels to an electric hook-up site each night. And some of us open the fridge at times during the travel day, maybe at a lunch stop or just to get a drink. Opening the door just once can cause major warming.

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Good point....My fridge is inaccessible with the slides in, so we never open the fridge unless we are there for the night.  Anything we might need is kept in a cooler in the storage compartment.  I had an older Class C and the fridge flame would blow out occasionally and the fridge could not hold the temp all day.  It's likely the new one would not have the same problem, but I still have no reason to keep it running while on the road.  We've gone up to 10 hrs with no problems.  Plus, I still don't feel good keeping the propane turned on when traveling.  Just me, though.  I lost my sense of smell years ago, so if the alarm is not working, I have no way of detecting a leak.  I probably should stay off of Youtube looking at RV fires.  Pretty ugly.

meternerd said:

Why run the fridge when traveling short distances if it stays cold anyway? 

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meternerd
Because an RV refrigerator is designed to run whenever it needs to run to keep the interior temperature constant.
(Do you ever unplug the fridge in your house while its being used to refrigerate food?)

I ordered the ARP on Friday, received it yesterday, and will be installing it when I take the trailer out for a trip next Friday.  I don't want to have to remember to turn it off if I park somewhere that is more than 3 degrees off level or I get caught in traffic going up a hill.

Gary RV_Wizard said:

The only safe answer is "zero".  Once the angle becomes critical, the boiler temperature skyrockets and the damage begins. Paul Unmack showed this to me with his demonstration unit.  It can be tilted some with no effect at all, but once the slope is enough the coolant no longer returns to the boiler and the temperature shoots up within  2-3 minutes. Since the normal operating temp is around 350 F., it doesn't take long to reach extreme levels. Depending on what way it is tilted, the critical angle can be anywhere from around 3 degrees to as much as 6.

Two kinds of damage occur:

1. The sodium chromate anti-corrosion chemical in the coolant crystallizes, with two effects:
1a. Loss of anti-corrosion capability, leading to long term damage by the ammonia inside
1b. The crystals can clog up the tubing and reduce or stopo circulation
2. High heat stresses the tubing and particularly the critical weld joints where the tubes join the boiler. eventually they crack

These are all long term failures from accumulated damage, so the fridge isn't going to quit immediately. It's more a "death of 1000 cuts". A few episodes of high heat are probably not going to have noticeable effect, but repeated heat damage will surely be fatal in the long run.

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Gary does this happen when using the refer on electric or propane or both?

It would happen whether you are on propane or electric.

keith c said:

It would happen whether you are on propane or electric.

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Thanks Keith. Good to know.